SADI 2005

May 01, 2005

And The Winners Are…

Now in its 16th year, the Superior Achievement in Design and Imaging awards recognize outstanding achievement in creating successful retail environments. The winners are those architects and designers who craft memorable places that put the magic back in shopping, enhance or redefine a retail brand, capture a trend particularly well or solve a seemingly insurmountable problem.

This year's victors continue that tradition.

What distinguishes the winners from the also-rans is the talent to blend aesthetics with function to create a superior design that reflects the best the business has to offer. In other words, a SADI recipient has designed a building or series of buildings with more than just pretty faces.

This year 10 distinguished architects and designers joined our SADI judging team, holding projects to extremely high standards. Still, they found U.S., Japanese and Spanish developments worthy of the honor.

The Grand SADI winner is The Jerde Partnership for its Namba Parks in Tokyo (pictured on the front and back covers and on page 166). This one-of-a-kind retail center blends nature and concrete into a 1.4 million-square-foot environment that takes visitors on a journey through a canyon, coves and plazas. There's even a rooftop garden. All this is done within the confines of the dense, urban core of Osaka, Japan, where previously there was little in the way of parkland.

Other big winners include Giorgio Borruso Design, which walked away with the top prize and honorable mention in the best new store category for its Fornarina and Miss Sixty boutiques, and RTKL for its revitalization of a Madrid train station and Legacy Town Center, a Plano, Texas, open-air center.

JUDGES/SADI 2005

Mark Carter

Senior Principal Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates Inc.

Carter, a past SADI winner, is responsible for large retail centers, including the Plaza and Court at King of Prussia, Pa., Triangle Town Center in Raleigh, N.C., and Plaza Vespucio and Plaza Tobalaba in Santiago, Chile. A 25-year veteran of the architecture industry, he has been with Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates his entire career. In 1979, he graduated from Auburn University with degrees in architecture, environmental design and building construction.

Jeff Gill

Principal MCG Architecture

Manager of MCG's Irvine, Calif. office, Gill has 25-plus years experience. Before joining MCG in 1996 as a project director, Gill owned Studio 1 Architects. Since taking over Irvine in 1997, he continued to contribute his hands-on experience.Under Gill, Irvine has undertaken such projects as Metro Pointe, a mixed-use retail/entertainment project in Costa Mesa, current mall additions and renovations such as Country Club Plaza in Sacramento and Sierra Vista Mall in Clovis, Calif. He is a 1981 graduate of the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Architecture degree.

Kevin Dougherty

President Dougherty Schroeder & Associates, Inc.

In 1992, Dougherty, who has 30 years experience, began a design practice that evolved into Dougherty Schroeder & Associates, Inc.With active projects in more than 15 states, Dougherty Schroeder. continues to expand into new regions with award-winning projects including The Avenue East Cobb (A.O.R. CMH, Inc.) in Atlanta, Deer Park Town Center in Chicago and Destin Commons in Destin Fla. Dougherty has a B.S. in Architecture from Ohio State and dual Masters degrees in Architecture and Planning from the University of Minnesota.

Y.E. Smith

Retail Design Lead Sienna Architectural Co.

Smith has focused on the thoughtful creation of space for over 20 years, including environments to shop, dine, educate, live, work and play. His solutions focus on the unique relationship between the man-made and natural worlds. Smith received his B.A. in Architecture from Arizona State and his Master's from Syra-cuse University's Florence, Italy, Urban Design Program, where he won a Fellowship. He is an accomplished artist, with collections in Japan and the U.S. He has taught design at Arizona State and design juries at The University of Washington and CU-Boulder.

Dennis Gervais

President GHA Shoppingscapes

Gervais, with more than 35 years in the business, was co-founder of GHA Shoppingscapes in 1985. A 2004 SADI winner, he is a graduate of the renowned Rhode Island School of Design. His professional career has included teaching design at Dawson College of Interior Design, where he also served as departmental chair. He was also Quebec liaison officer to the Interior Designers of Canada. Gervais' greatest strength lies in the inspiring drive he brings to each project, fostering team solutions that surpass expectations. This approach has consistently resulted in prize-winning projects.

Annmarie Brintnall

Associate Callison Architecture

Brintnall has a strong background in all phases of retail design. Since joining Callison, she has led a number of retail expansion and repositioning projects from concept development through completion. Her focus on the seamless integration of all the elements of design — from branding to interiors to environmental graphics, forms the basis for her approach to any project. Brintnall graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Architecture.

Christian Davies

Davies, a past SADI winner, heads the Specialty Brands studio at FRCH Design Worldwide and runs the Brand Development Group in partnership with other business units. Trained as a retail designer, Davies began his career at Fitch Worldwide working for clients in Europe and the U.S. He has also held executive positions with The Retail Group and Utility Inc., both based in Seattle. Davies' commentaries have been featured in World Architecture, The Boston Globe, USA Today and The London Sunday Times.

Arthur Benedetti

Vice President/Design Principal The Jerde Partnership

Since joining Jerde in 1985, Benedetti has worked on the design and master planning of large-scale projects in the U.S., France, Mexico, China, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia. Projects have included The River at Rancho Mirage, a mixed-use entertainment destination. Current projects include Steve Wynn's Las Vegas hotel. Mixed-use projects include Shiodome in Tokyo, and La Cittadella in Kawasaki, Japan. Benedetti has worked with Geyer & Associates and O'Neil & Perez in San Antonio, and William Smith & Associates in San Diego.

Vilma Barr

New York Editor Writer and Consultant

Barr is a contributing editor to Display & Design Ideas, Architectural Lighting, and Retail Traffic. She reports on retailing trends and case studies of new and renovated stores and shopping centers. She has written and co-authored numerous books on design-related topics, including Designing to Sell, The Best of Neon, The Illustrated Room, and Promotion Strategies for Design and Construction Firms. Her consulting firm, Barr Publicity & Editorial Services, now based in Philadelphia, develops and implements marketing-support programs for design firms.

Jennifer Johanson

CEO and Design Director Engstrom Design Group

Johanson has more than 16 years experience in developing restaurant and food service concepts. Her clients have included famous chefs Wolfgang Puck, Joachim Splichal, Kent Rathbun and Bradley Ogden. Johanson also has guided the design of new hotel restaurants for Conrad, Hilton Hotels, Four Seasons, Marriott and Caesars Palace. She has considerable expertise in casual dining concepts and has developed prototypes for clients including Nordstrom and other Fortune 500 companies. She has traveled extensively in Europe and Japan.

Fornarina

New Retail Store Interior Less Than 5,000 Square Feet

Inside the chaotic bustle of Mandalay Bay Place in Las Vegas, this 2,350-square-foot oasis — the Italian high-end women's store Fornarina — stops shoppers in their tracks‥ Winner Giorgio Borruso Design's goal was to create a space where one could “retire and feel comfortable.” Silicon rings display the products. Along the perimeter, a mantle of vinyl rises to become the wall. A line of demarcation separates the floor from the “sky,” raining strange objects: bulbs of glass suspended from fuscia filaments and large tentacles with eyes that observe and at the same time create a focal point for customers. “The amorphous, sensuous forms reinforce the merchandise,” says SADI judge Kevin Dougherty, president of Dougherty, Schroeder & Associates, Inc. “The store has a high ‘wow’ factor.”

Miss Sixty

New Retail Store Interior Less Than 5,000 Square Feet

Abstract forms, circles and squares echo through the 2,250-square-foot Miss Sixty store at Aventura Mall, near Miami, conceived, like Fornarina, by Giorgio Borruso Design. “Curves and straight lines are mixed elegantly,” says Vilma Barr, a consultant and writer. The effect is an updated 1960's look. At this boutique, which sells high-end Italian clothes and accessories for affluent young women, two different materials and two starkly different colors divide the space. In the rear, cocoon-like dressing rooms are composed of ultra-light aluminum circles wrapped in an elastic translucent fabric. “These innovative spaces reinforce the unique experience,” says Jennifer Johanson, CEO and design director, Engstrom Design Group.

Project Name: Miss Sixty

Location: Aventura, Fla.

Square Footage: 2,250

Architect: Giorgia Borruso Design

Client: Sixty USA

Credits

Architect of Record: Brand & Allen

General Contractor: Brodson Construction

Flooring: Lonseal

Furniture & Fixtures: T.Alongi eventscape

Door: PRL Glass Systems

Home Economist Market

New Retail Store 5,000 Square Feet or More

Little Diversified Architectural Consulting crafted a warm and flexible space for a prototype of the Home Economist Market, an organic grocery in Charlotte, N.C. An exposed-wood ceiling, three integrated lighting systems and textured murals of farm scenes and landscapes by a local artist help define product zones in the store. Wood floors add light and warmth to the space, while a classic inlaid floor pattern with a modern twist accents an informational kiosk in the health section. “I like the understated graphics,” says Christian Davies, vice president design strategy/creative director, FRCH Worldwide. Y.E. Smith, retail design lead, Sienna Architectural describes the look as “calm, focused and clean.”

Project Name: Home Economist Market

Location: Charlotte, N.C.

Square Footage: 18,000

Architect: Little Diversified Architectural Consulting

Client: Home Economist Market

Credits

Scotch Print:Visual Impressions

Equipment & Refrigeration: C.E. Holt Inc.

Flooring: Amtico International

Décor and Environmental Signage: Plastex Fabrication

Lighting: Maddux Lighting

Exterior Sign: Casco Lighting

Lighting Design Consultant: Bliss Fasman Inc.

Mechanical Engineering: Bowers Consulting

Structural Engineering: WGPM Inc.

Electrical Engineering: Sturgill Engineering

Safeway-Mission Place

New Retail Store 5,000 Square Feet or More

Building a supermarket in San Francisco's Mission Place — a dense, ethnically mixed urban neighborhood across from SBC Park — required a change from the conventional suburban store. Designer King Retail Solutions used adjectives such as “contemporary,” “high-tech,” and “warm” in contemplating its strategy for this city store. The plan uses metal mesh, plastic mesh and graphics to provide a contemporary, urban high-tech look. Natural light from large windows and the spacious feeling provided by unobscured sight lines give the store a warm glow. “This reflects a solid solution for Safeway's target clientele,” says Dennis Gervais, president of GHA Shoppingscapes. “It's varied, colorful and playful.”

Project Name: Safeway-Mission Place

Location: San Francisco

Square Footage: 26,265

Architect: SGPA Architecture & Planning

Client: Safeway Inc.

Credits

Design Firm: King Retail Solutions

Photography Studio: PhotOregon

General Contractor: Eric F. Anderson

Refrigeration: Hussmann Refrigeration

Lighting: Cupertino Electric

Flooring: The Concretist

Estacion de Tren Principe Pio

Renovated or Expanded Enclosed Center

Born out of the revival of a historic transit station in a bustling area of downtown Madrid, the $130 million Principe Pio preserves the station's original aesthetics while infusing the 110,000-square- foot retail area with modern upscale flourishes. RTKL Associates kept the original glass canopy suspended in place while excavating four levels to create three floors of underground parking and one below-grade level of retail. A vaulted glass dome allows full visibility of the historic station while greeting visitors with a sense of elegance. “This represents an energetic resolution of marrying the new with the old,” says Y.E. Smith, retail design lead of Sienna Architectural. “There's a handsome new facade with the existing train station facing an urban-scaled plaza.”

Cincinnati Mills

Renovated or Expanded Enclosed Center

FRCH Design Worldwide turned Cincinnati's deteriorating 1.5 million-square-foot Forest Fair Mall into the region's largest retail and entertainment destination, while maintaining the existing structure. In the fashion “neighborhood” (above), custom-carpeting featuring buttons and thread, helps define the space. The other “neighborhoods,” include “country road” and “amusement,” which intersect at Center Court, with a gazebo and fountain. “Without major alterations to the base shell, a major metamorphosis was achieved,” says Dennis Gervais, president, GHA Shoppingscapes. Annmarie Brintnall an associate at Callison Architecture praises the makeover for its “nice attention to detail, nice sense of scale and nice, big, bold moves.”

Project Name: Cincinnati Mills

Location: Cincinnati

Square Footage: 1.5 million

Architect: FRCH Design Worldwide

Client: The Mills Corp.

Credits

General Contractor: The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.

Electrical Engineer: Kohrs, Lonneman & Heil, PSC. Engineers

Mechanical Engineer: M-Retail Engineering Inc.

Structural Engineer: THP Limited

Lighting Designer: Bliss Fasman Inc.

Landscape Architect: Vivian Llambi

Carpet Supplier: Manning Commercial Carpet Shaw Contract

Bloomingdale's SoHo

Best New Store, Adapted Reuse of Original Space

The former Canal Jeans in New York's trendy SoHo neighborhood was transformed from a mid-19th century warehouse into an elegant mini-Bloomingdale's. At six stories of 15,000 square feet each, for a total of 90,000 square feet of selling space, the plan demanded creative design solutions. With a budget of about $35 million, Mancini Duffy mixed exposed brick walls, original oak flooring and tin ceilings with sleek contemporary materials such as glass, plasma screens and theatrical lighting. Bloomingdale's is considering adapting this design for smaller, hipper stores in other parts of the country. “This is just great retail, done the way it used to be,” says Christian Davies, vice president, design strategy/creative director, FRCH Design Worldwide.

Project Name: Bloomingdale's SoHo

Location: New York City

Square Footage: 90,000

Architect: Mancini Duffy (work completed while project team was at Tucci, Segrete +Rosen, which closed its doors in 2004).

Client: Federated Department Stores Inc.

Credits

Ceilings: US Gypsum

Fixtures: Monarch Industries Suss Woodcraft Buildings Furniture Ltd.

Flooring: Innovative Marble & Tile Hauppauge

Furniture: Cassina USA Barretts Hill Dakota Jackson Steelcase

Mannequins: Adel Roostein Patina-V

Lighting Consultant: Horton Lees

Architectural/Engineering Consultant: Highland Associates

Eton Chagrin Boulevard

David Benjamin Meleca Architecture and Bialosky + Partners turned a faceless mini-mall in Woodmere, Ohio, outside Cleveland into an urban/suburban shopping, dining and entertainment center at a cost of $70 million. The major challenge was to execute a total revamp without tearing down the original mall because an attached office tower remained fully occupied. As new retailers came on board and the exterior space was doubled, “we respected the unique character of each as we harmonized the inner and outer spaces,” says developer Stark Enterprises.“It's very humanistic in its approach to retail,” says Jeff Gill, principal, MCG Architecture.

Namba Parks

New Open-Air Center 80,000 - 800,000 Square Feet or More

Namba Parks emerges from a dense urban core in Osaka, Japan, to blend nature and concrete into a 1.4 million-square-foot open-air center like no other. The Jerde Partnership project includes a man-made canyon.The path through it is sculpted to produce a sense of mystery with a variety of coves, caves and valleys. A figure-eight circulation path ascends through the canyon's interior, up the sloped park plane. A series of plazas, each with a water feature or other event lead visitors on a trail of discovery. With a budget of $800 million, Jerde designed “a bold and provocative dream experience,” says Y.E. Smith, retail design lead of Sienna Architectural Co. Adds Annmarie Brintnall of Callison Architecture: “Brilliant architectural moves.”

Project Name: Namba Parks

Location: Osaka, Japan

Square Footage: 1.4 million

Architect: The Jerde Partnership

Clients: Nankai Electric Railway Co., Ltd. Takashimaya

Credits

Associate Architect: Obayashi Corporation Architectural Department

Engineers: Obayashi Corp.

Landscape Contractor: Tsujimoto Ryushouen

Lighting Contractor: Matsushita Electrics

Signage Contractor: Bikousha

General Contractor: Obayashi Corp.

Photographer: Hiroyuki Kawano

Legacy Town Center

New Open-Air Center 80,000 - 800,000 Square Feet or More

RTKL Associates had a budget of $75 million to build the 315,000-square-feet Shops at Legacy in Plano, Texas, outside of Dallas. Drawing on the corporate architecture of the adjacent Legacy Business Park and the modern homes in the neighborhood, the center reflects the contemporary nature of the surrounding community. A pedestrian-friendly street grid is laid out to mimic an intimate urban setting, with special care taken to screen parking. Ground-level shops, restaurants, homes and offices enliven the streetscape and create around-the-clock vitality. The Shops at Legacy have been widely acclaimed in the local marketplace as the region's center of retail and entertainment activity.

Project Name: Legacy Town Center

Location: Plano, Texas

Square Footage: 315,000

Architect: RTKL Associates Inc.

Client: Electronic Data Systems Corp. Post Properties Inc.

Credits

Associate Architect: Michael Twitchell Architects

Contractors: Manhattan Rogers O'Brian

Civil Engineer: Huitt Zollars, Inc.

Structural Engineer: Brockett Davis Drake

Electrical Engineer: Riggins-Moreland

Mechanical/Plumbing: Basharkah Engineering

Graphic Designer: RTKL Associates Inc.

Lighting Designer: Bliss Fasman Inc.

Landscape Architect: RTKL Associates Inc.

Cosi

Best New Quick-Serve Restaurant

Little Diversified Architectural Consulting met the challenge of combining two quick-service restaurant motifs — an urban coffeehouse and an open-hearth sandwich shop — to create this Cosi prototype in Avon, Conn. The design also improved efficiency: The changes yielded sales increases of more than 14 percent versus comparable Cosi shops. “This represents a clean, warm interpretation for this category,” says Arthur Benedetti, vice president, project design, The Jerde Partnership. “It has particularly innovative lighting and materials.” Kevin Dougherty, president, Dougherty, Schroeder & Associates, notes that the space could be converted to a full-service restaurant for a future tenant if required. “This is a great step forward in the interior design of a quick-serve restaurant,” he says.

Project Name: Cosi

Location: Avon, Conn.

Square Footage: 2,700

Architect: Little Diversified Architectural Consulting

Client: Cosi, Inc.

Credits

Specialty Store Lighting Design: Bliss Fasman, Inc.

Contractor: C.S. Margison, Inc.

Furniture: Meld/CCS, Inc.

Millwork: St. Joe Millwork

The Shops at Columbus Circle/Time Warner Center

New Enclosed Center

When it came to judging the entries in this category, the SADI panel could not agree on a favorite. The editors of Retail Traffic, however, went back over the judge's comments and decided on a winner: The Shops at Columbus Circle/Time Warner Center create a vertical shopping center in the midst of a 2.8 million-square-foot mixed-use complex in a city known almost entirely for street shopping. Elkus Manfredi Architects incorporates a variety of luxurious materials, such as cherry wood, silver leaf and marble and granite to craft an elegant shopping space that lifts the vertical mall to New York standards.